As we prepare for Christmas with friends and families, let us not forget our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters across the Middle East--especially in Iraq. The American media gave scant coverage to the brutal murder of 52 (parishioners, priests and nuns) at a late October mass in Baghdad. Ditto for the non-stop series of anti-Christian attacks across the country in the post-Saddam era. The goal of the radical Shiites is obvious--drive Christians from their ancestral lands. Ethnic and religious cleansing. And now another sad development: many Iraqi churches are reluctantly closing their doors during the holy days of Christmas, to avoid more carnage. This plague of persecution, torture and intimidation has led to a mass exodus of Christians from Mosul and Baghdad. Meanwhile, our State Department has been disgracefully quiet and disengaged on this critical issue. Why? Are we so concerned about offending the region's majority Muslim population that we look the other way during the ongoing terror campaign against these innocent people? Are only certain minorities worth protecting? Please pray for our fellow Christians this Christmas and join me in demanding that our government do more to stop these atrocities.